I Numi - Alpha Rapha Boulevard 1971

on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 | 0 Comment

A band from Pavia formed around 1967 from the ashes of local beat groups Gli Spettri, I Solitari, Gli Imprevisti, they only released an album in 1971 for the small Polaris label (the same as I Teoremi). The band included lots of covers by the likes of Free, Deep Purple, Grand Funk Railroad in their live act.The album, housed in a very nice cover, is song-based, with soft and dreamy atmospheres and good lyrics by composer Guido Bolzoni. He had worked with some important names of the Italian pop music (like Mina) and also had released a solo album, Happening, in 1969 under the name of Guido.Some foreign influences are evident in the guitar playing of Mario Rognoni (nicknamed Carlos for his ability in playing in Santana style), but the band's sound is very far from King Crimson or other English groups and more in a melodic vein, the only different track is the opening Alpha ralpha boulevard (sung by Bolzoni though he was not a member of the group).
A new member, sax/flute player Paolo Fabbri, joined the band right after the album came out (he had already taken part in the recording sessions), to replace one of the guitarists, and this line-up had a good concert activity and even played at the Festival di Re Nudo in Zerbo in 1972, one of that year's main musical events.The group split later the same year, when drummer Sollazzi left to join Lucio Dalla's band. He formed a short-lived group called Corte dei Miracoli (not to be confused with the more famous group from Savona with the same name) that also included former Numi members Buccelli and Tiranzoni.Around the same nucleus a new Numi incarnation was reformed in 1975, this time with two keyboardists and a more symphonic and ambitious sound. This line-up composed a concept work entitled Storia di Zero that was played at Pavia's Teatro Fraschini and released in a limited CD issue in 1993. A long suite, this included good symphonic prog-inspired parts along with covers of famous tracks by Beatles, Moody Blues and others, this can be interesting to hear, though a bit fragmented. The CD also includes a good live jam by the 1972 line-up.Other reunions came in 1979, with the follow-up to Storia di Zeno, another suite called 2079, but even this group (including a horn section with ex-Maxophone Maurizio Bianchini) had a short life, and again in 1990 when a book on rock bands in Pavia was released.Drummer Sollazzi, whose surname was misspelled as Solazzi on the LP cover, still plays now in a Beatles-cover band called Back To The Beatles (with two CD's, Rubber songs in 1995 and Beatle-Sconcerto in 1998) and is still active in the musical field with reviews on newspapers and concert organization. Other ex-Numi play in the same group, bassist Paolo Buccelli and guitarist Aldo Tagliaferri that was in the band's first line-up.

Line-up / Musicians

Marco Pazzi/guitars,vocals
Furio Sollazzi/drums
Paolo Buccelli/bass,vocals
Mario Rognoni/guitars,vocals
Beppe Tiranzoni/keyboards,vocals
Carlo Gatti/keyboards,vocals

Discography(Album) 

Alpha Rapha Boulevard 1971

1.Alpha Ralpha Boulevard 
2.San Miguel 
3.La Nuova Età 
4.Luce e Gloria per te 
5.Furma Materiae Progredientis 
6.325 
7.Alpha Ralpha Reprise 


Listen or download I Numi Alpha Ralpha Boulevard for free on Pleer

Listen or download I Numi San Miguel for free on Pleer

Labels: I, Italy, N, ROCK PROGRESSIVO ITALIANO

I Numi - Alpha Rapha Boulevard 1971